| COAL LOGISTICS |
| Rail utility hopeful of meeting 2012/13 coal target after slow start |
 | Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) is working to catch up export coal volumes lost during the first few months of its current financial year, which included a nine-day shutdown, in an effort to meet its 2012/13 budget of hauling up to 77-million tons to the privately-owned Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT), in KwaZulu-Natal. The RBCT received coal at an annualised rate of 66.41-million tons during June, a decline for the annualised tempo of 71-million achieved during April, the first month of the State-owned rail utility's financial year. TFR experienced three major derailments and two minor ones since its April shutdown, which had placed it on to the back foot. Full Article |
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| EXPLORATION INVESTMENT |
| New Africa Mining Fund II expects first investment soon |
| The second New Africa Mining Fund (NAMF II) expects to make its first investment in the next two to three months. The $120-million venture-capital fund invests mainly in early-stage exploration and development projects in all commodities expect uranium and diamonds. Full Article |
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| MINING & SOCIETY |
| 'Fundamental shift' needed in mining-government relations |
| Trust between the South African government and the private mining sector would have to be repaired to foster the sustainable development of the domestic mining sector, Xstrata executive director Andile Sangqu said at the African Mining Congress on Tuesday. Discussing government's increasing demand for a greater share of the financial benefits from domestic minerals, Sangqu called for "a fundamental shift" in the relationship so as to extract greater benefits for society, while still fostering mining investment. Full Article |
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| GOLD |
| Gold Fields to become sole owner of Kyrgyzstan project |
| JSE-listed Gold Fields' acquisition of the remaining 40% interest in the Talas gold/copper/molybdenum joint-venture project (JV), in Kyrgyzstan, from base metals explorer Orsu Metals, would add to the company's geographic diversification strategy, corporate affairs manager Sven Lunche said Tuesday. "Geographic diversity in terms of project location assists in mitigating risks, as opposed to being dependent on one or two areas," he told Mining Weekly Online. Full Article |
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| DIVERSIFIED MINER |
| Rio posts production increases, says investment programme resilient |
 | Diversified giant Rio Tinto has reported production increases for its iron-ore, copper, bauxite and alumina and coking coal operations during the second quarter ended June. "The second quarter was strong across most of the portfolio," said CEO Tom Albanese on Tuesday. Full Article |
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| MINE SAFETY |
| KDC West shaft fire still not extinguished – Gold Fields |
| South African miner Gold Fields corporate affairs manager Sven Lunche said Tuesday that the fire at the company's KDC West mine, near Merafong, was still not extinguished. He told Mining Weekly Online that the fire, which broke out at 4 Shaft (Ya-Rona) on July 30 and killed five people, was contained. Full Article |
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| MINE DEATH |
| Harmony reports fatal accident at Unisel mine |
| JSE-listed gold miner Harmony Gold has stopped all mining operations at its Unisel mine, near Welkom, following a fatal accident. The company stated that a worker had died in an orepass incident on Tuesday morning. Full Article |
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| COAL |
| Indian coal imports to rise to 185Mt by 2017, support infrastructure still missing |
| India would need to import 185-million tons of coal by 2017 in order to meet the increasing gap between demand and supply and achieve its energy generation targets, the country's Planning Commission has said. In a working note, the Commission pointed out that the importation requirement could move even higher than the projection if domestic production did not increase by at least some 7.5% a year. Full Article |
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| ANTHRACITE |
| Petmin secures mining extension for Somkhele |
| Johannesburg- and London-listed junior miner Petmin has been granted a 20-year mining licence for an expansion to new mining areas at its flagship Somkhele anthracite operation in northern KwaZulu-Natal. CEO Jan Du Preez said that Petmin would start producing saleable product from the new mining areas within the next 12 months. Full Article |
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| URANIUM |
| Bannerman's Etango gets environmental nod |
| ASX- and TSX-listed Bannerman Resources has received environmental approval from the Namibian Ministry of Environment and Tourism to develop its Etango uranium project. The latest approval complemented the environmental approval received last year for the project's off-site infrastructure, and was a necessary step in obtaining a mining licence. Full Article |
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| INDUSTRIAL ACTION |
| First Quantum suspends Mauritania operations |
| oronto- and London-listed First Quantum Minerals on Tuesday said it had temporarily suspended operations at its Guelb Moghrein copper/gold mine, in Mauritania, as a result of an illegal strike by unionised employees. The company said it continued to work through a government-facilitated mediation process to achieve a resolution to the illegal strike. Full Article |
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| COAL POWER |
| FutureGen moves ahead with EPA application for power project |
| The FutureGen Alliance on Tuesday affirmed that Morgan county, in the US, would remain the preferred location for its carbon dioxide (CO2) storage site and that it would proceed with an application for a US Environmental Protection Agency permit for the site. The project entails a first-of-its-kind coal-fueled power plant with near-zero emissions that would produce hydrogen and capture and store CO2 in deep geological formations. Full Article |
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| DIAMONDS |
| Lucara completes second auction, undeterred by soft demand |
| Diamond junior Lucara Diamond on Monday said it had completed its second auction of diamonds from its Karowe mine, in Botswana, raking in $6.5-million in revenue. On July 16, a total of 35 individual lots containing 36 842 ct of diamonds were put up for sale, of which 32 lots were sold. Full Article |
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